P Is for Peril

satin-padded hangers. She said, "You might as well follow me. Otherwise, I won't hear you and you'll have to repeat. My ears are still stopped up; just one more reason for taking the train."
    I moved to the closet and stood in the doorway to continue the program. "At any rate, Saturday afternoon I went up to Blanche's shortly after she phoned…"
    Fiona turned to me. "You went over to see Blanche? Why in the world did you do that?"
    "She called me at home. I got the impression you'd already spoken to her."
    "I did no such thing and I can't believe you'd take such a step without consulting me. No one's to be brought into this unless I say so. I'm paying for your time. If I'd wanted you to see Blanche, I'd have given you her number."
    "I thought you did."
    "I gave you Melanie's, not hers. How much did you tell her?"
    "I really don't remember. Honestly, I'm sorry, but she acted as if she knew all about me, so I assumed she'd talked to you or to Melanie. She said the two of them were so relieved because they'd been urging you to hire someone ever since their father disappeared."
    "That's immaterial. I'll pass on information to the girls if it seems relevant, but I think it's inappropriate coming from you. Is that clear?"
    "Of course," I said, stung. Having paid Richard Hevener the entire $1,500 Fiona'd given me, I no longer had the means to refund her original retainer. Deducting $50 for the time I'd spent with Trigg, I now owed her $1,075 worth of services and realized if I quit, there was no way to pay her back, short of pulling the money from my savings account.
    "Please go on," she murmured, resuming her chores.
    My temper emerged hard on the heels of injury and I had to bite my tongue bloody to keep from telling her where to stick it. This resolution lasted until I opened my mouth. "You know what? Fun as this is, I'm already tired of taking crap from you. I've worked my butt off this weekend and if my methods don't suit you, I'm out of here."
    For the second time within minutes, I'd managed to surprise and amaze. She seemed genuinely flustered, backing down as fast as she could manage it. "That's not what I meant, I apologize if I offended you. That wasn't my intent."
    There's nothing more effective than an apology for knocking me off my high horse. I backed down as fast as she had and we spent the next few minutes smoothing one another's ruffled feathers before moving on.
    Then Fiona asked me about the game plan. Like I had one. "How do you intend to go about finding him?"
    "Ah," said I. "Well. I have some other people I want to talk to first and then we'll see where we stand." In truth, I was at a loss.
    Her eyes glittered briefly and I thought she might challenge me, but she seemed to think better of it.
    "Couple of questions," I said. "Someone thought Dow might have gone into an alcohol rehab facility on the two occasions when he disappeared in the past. Any chance he might have left the country instead?"
    She hesitated. "What difference would that make?"
    "Lonnie Kingman questioned it. He's the attorney I rent space from. He suggested Dowan might have been moving currency into foreign bank accounts in preparation for flight."
    "It never occurred to me."
    "I didn't occur to me, either, but the first time we met, you did seem to think he might be in Europe or South America."
    "Well, yes, but I can't believe he'd plan such a thing all those years in advance."
    "Did you ever look at his passport?"
    "Of course not. What reason would I have?"
    "Just an idea," I said. "Maybe that's why the passport's missing- he took it so no one could go back and see where he'd been on those earlier trips."
    "You mentioned two questions."
    I waited until she made eye contact with me. "Why didn't you tell me he was on his way over here that night?"
    Casually, she placed a hand against her throat. The gesture was self-protective, as though she were warding off a slash at her carotid artery. "He never arrived. I thought it was a miscommunication. I tried calling his office the next day, but he was already gone by then."
    "Why was he coming?"
    "I don't see why it matters since he never showed."
    "Was anyone else in the house with you that night?" I asked.
    "To support my story?"
    "That'd be nice, don't you think?"
    "I'm afraid I can't help. This is a small town. Tongues wag. I wouldn't even let him leave his car on the parking pad. I had him pull into the empty garage. No one knew about his visits."
    "At least no one you told." I felt